Texas appeals court blocks state from probing transgender kids' parents

A Texas appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court's injunction blocking the state from investigating parents who provide their transgender children with gender-affirming medical treatments, which Governor Greg Abbott has called abusive.

Abbott, a Republican, had ordered the state Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) to carry out child abuse investigations into families whose children were receiving puberty-blocking treatments in February 2022.

A month later, a district court judge imposed a statewide temporary injunction on such investigations, saying the probes endangered children and their families.

The appeals court in Austin upheld the district court judge's injunction in a pair of rulings on Friday, delivering a victory to LGBTQ groups, medical professionals and civil liberties advocates opposing moves by conservative politicians in dozens of states to criminalize the provision of gender-transitioning treatments for trans youth.